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tv   Presidential Inauguration 2013  CSPAN  January 21, 2013 7:00am-10:00am EST

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of the 57th presidential inauguration with sights and sounds and behind-the-scenes those online at c-span.org. span.org. aonline at c- >> welcome to c-span2's live coverage of the 57th presidential inauguration. at noon on the west front of the capital, which you are looking at, president obama, be ceremonially sworn in for the second turn. he was constitutionally sworn in yesterday. since 1981, the ceremony has been held on the west front of the capital. the crowds on the national mall attending have grown larger and larger, sometimes exceeding 1 million people. 800,000 attendees this year is the current estimate. c-span will be light at route
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washington today, following the president and his activities. -- will be live throughout washington today, following the president and his activities. later, we will take you to the inaugural ball. throughout the day, we will take your calls, e-mails, tweets, and facebook comments. also on or web page, you can post pictures and you can view at the inaugural photos of many others. by the way, the weather forecast is cloudy with a high of 47 degrees in washington, possible snow showers in the afternoon. as you can see in these live pictures, the crowds have already begun a dissenting on the capitol grounds where they will go through heavy security before being allowed in through the barricades. the washington metro system has been on a rush-hour schedule
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since 4:00 a.m. this morning, and that will continue through the late evening to accommodate the crowds. much of the city is locked down. here is a brief look at the schedule of events today. at 8:45, the president will be attending a church service at st. john's episcopal church right around the corner from the white house. the swearing in ceremony begins at approximately 11:20 this morning. we will be live at with all that. after the inaugural, the president will have lunch in the u.s. capitol with dignitaries and congressional leaders. that begins at about 1:00. we'll show you as much of that as we can. the parade itself from the capitol to the white house will begin at approximately 2:45.
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the inaugural balls will get started at about 8:45. all of that will be live on our schedule today. as we mentioned, we want to hear from you as well. we will put the numbers up on the screen -- we will take your calls, tweets, etc.. you can go ahead and dial in right now. hundreds of tweets already at #inaug2013. these are folks trying to get through security. here is what some of them say. --
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hannah says -- ann says -- there is quick to win out there this morning. -- wind out there this morning. chesley says -- chelsea says -- ian -- the front page of "the new york times" has this picture -- this was taken by photographer up doug mills.
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this is the president, a first lady, and sasha and malia being -- while the president was sworn in yesterday. by the way, president obama is only the 17th president to have to go inaugurals in our history. he is the 44 president, but the 17th to have to go in all girls. the others include george w. bush, bill clinton, ronald reagan, richard nixon, to eisenhower, fdr, woodrow wilson, william mckinley, ulysses s. grant, abraham lincoln, anger jackson, james monroe, james madison, thomas jefferson, and george washington. down on the national mall where the crowds are gathering, we have a reporter in the middle of
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everything. >> right from a capital, in the middle of the national mall, three ladies with us and make the journey to this and operation. >> i am gloria, from seattle. >> michelle, new york. >> marion, pennsylvania. >> you decided to meet here. >> we are all three sisters. >> why did you decide to come to washington for the 57 and operation? >> i think we regretted not being here quarter years ago. we decided we would not miss it this time around. >> we never thought about it or we did not think it is possible to come altogether. >> how did this all happened? how did each of you get here? >> i drove up from pennsylvania. >> i flew in. >> gives me an average cost of how much this will come to, the bill to be here in washington and to stay overnight.
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>> probably over $2,000. hotel're able to find a and do all that. what are the logistics like? >> we rented a condo from somebody advertising. >> what time did you get up to make your way down here? >> 5:00 a.m. the last couple of days, a lot of walking. >> give me your impressions. your dancing before the camera came out. >> hit the excitement is in the air. we cannot get enough of it. it is awesome. >> do you has volunteered for the president? >> no, just donations, stuff like that. >> just follow it religiously. >> what do expect from the president? >> i believe he will follow through with all the promises he gave. the next four years great. >> i agree.
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>> any expectations? >> no, just hopefully he has a bit more cooperation and can be more successful in what he wants to do. >> where do you plan to watch today? how far a are you trying to make it? >> as close as we can. >> the lot, ladies. , for talking to c-span. -- thank you, ladies. thank you for talking to c-span. >> this is the parade route -- that will happen at about 2:45. greta is right here. she is quite a ways from the capital itself. this area will fill in by noon with people attending the inaugural.
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a couple more tweets -- this is daniel -- -- we also have this tweet -- let's take some calls. tim in florida, on our democrats line. tim, you are on c-span. >> good morning, thank you for taking my call. i would like to speak directly to the president this morning. i would like to ask him to do something about poverty. i am calling in because i think it is amazing that he is taking the oath of office on the bible of lincoln and martin luther king, and martin luther king had this to say, and if i can quote him -- it is a simple matter of
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justice with the task of raising the negro from backwardness should also be rescuing the forgotten a white sport. a bill of rights for the disadvantaged, marked the rise of a new era in which the full resources of society would be used to attack the tenacious poverty which so paradoxical exists here. >> that is tim from gainesville, florida. he mentioned the lincoln and bible and the king bible. the lincoln bible itself, according to the library of can -- of congress, is bound in burgundy velvet with a gold washed white metal rim around the three outside edges of the covers. all edges are heavily guilt. in the center of -- of the top cover, there is a shield of cold wash with the words "holy bible"
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etched into it. the king bible was dr. king's trebling bible. an avid reader, dr. king traveled with a selection of books that included this bible the president will be using. it was used for inspiration and preparing sermons. henry in huntington, west virginia, on our independent line. caller: i just wanted to call and say, really wish i could be in washington d.c. today. i have a lot of optimism about the next four years. i think mr. obama is doing a heck of a good job. he is getting a lot of his promises down. i hope the next four years are as good as the last. thank you for having me.
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host: eric in seattle, what do think about all this? -- do you think about all this? you always have to turn down the volume and dirty -- on your tv. in today's inaugural, you'll hear a lot from senator schumer. here he is explaining his role in today's inauguration. >> the hardest part is trying to make sure everybody, there will be a huge crowd, not as big as four years ago, but a huge crowd, they get to their places, their seeds or standing places. as you know, there were big problems four years ago, not the fault of the committee, but of some people. we're trying to deal with huge numbers of people. we have done a couple of things
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-- we are using an iphone at -- app that will tell the on where they are and where the best route to go to, taking into account lines and everything, to get to their seat. people waited in line for hours, and when they got to the gate, they were told they were at the wrong date. that delayed some things. we're building a temporary cell phone towers on the mall. people can call in if they get lost or they are separated. we also have hundreds of volunteers will be scattered not only on the mall, a mile or two from it and ask people, but me see your ticket, you go this way and that way. >> take us through your day, leading up to 11:30. >> i wake up early, and of course, i will be checking that everything is ok. then i get into a car and go to
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the white house, where the president and mrs. obama, my wife and i, and the other four on the inaugural committee, have tea. he and i ride alone in the car over to the capital. i promised myself i would not bring up politics. if he wants to, that is fine. then we wait in an anteroom or we will serve new york greek- style greek yogurt -- yogurt to people. and we will march out to the ceremony. >> center schumer is a chairman of the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies, which organizes all of the events at capitol. he will be speaking, playing a large behind-the-scenes role. eric in seattle, what are your thoughts about inauguration day 2013? caller: i feel great about it. some people, they want to be
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hitters -- haters. we blacks have accepted anybody who is president. one more thing that i would like to say -- democratic principles, the majority rules, those are the benchmarks of the constitution. the filibuster is not constitutional. hamilton worry about two-thirds majority rule, and in february -- in february of 1775. if the filibuster will not be changed, president obama will not be able to move forward. thank you, and i wish people would understand that america is a country regardless of who the president is. we all should support the president. >> it was in 18 01 of thomas dorson's first inaugural. that was the first time it was held in washington, d.c.
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the first time it was held outside was 1817. the first time it was held in january was at the arc's second naugural in 1937 -- was fdr's second inaugural in 1937. this is from washington post -- i am sorry, the washington times -- where the oaths of office had been taken. one time in buffalo new york, -- buffalo, n.y., theodore roosevelt. george washington, and chester arthur, both in new york city. george washington, john adams, in philadelphia. 65 oaths of office have taken place in washington d.c., and one in dallas, lyndon b. johnson in 1963.
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james in brandon, florida on our republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i wanted to ask the country to pray for our president obama -- i am a republican, and i voted republican this year. that was to my commitment to the republican party. i am very disappointed with my party. i do not like the direction they are taking. to be honest with you, i do not like the fact that they are not cooperating in the house or any other place with democrats or with president obama. i would ask the president if he would open upper a new investigation on the 9/11
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attacks on this country. i am unsatisfied with the commission report that was put out. host: that was james in brandon, florida. you can see on the capital, five large flags hanging down. the explanation of the five different flags they had hanging down -- this is a congressional report. framed against the black -- the backdrop -- the backdrop of red, white and blue -- we have at ross flag with starch -- stars are arranged in the circle. the next two flags are the flags the u.s. adopted when the president elect's home state became part of the u.s. the middle flag represents the 50 states.
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president obama plus home state illinois entered the union and 18 -- in 1818, making it the 21st state to join the union. the two flags towards the center, they will display 21 stars. dole in new york, the independent line. -- joel in new york, the independent line. >> i love c-span. inauguration day is a proud day for every american, regardless of party affiliation. i want to address the first caller about poverty. i am a second-generation american, and if you cannot make in this country, you'll be doomed to failure in any other country. host: julie, salt lake city, good morning. caller: i want to thank you for taking my call.
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i lived in a completely republican state. thank goodness that president obama has prevailed, because i do believe that the majority of people, even though i do it in a republican state, a lot of them did vote for him. unfortunately, i wish we would get rid of the electoral vote and go to the popular vote. i think a lot more people would get up and vote then. thank you for letting me speak. host: that was julie in salt lake city. these are all live pictures from around washington, around the national mall. the security lines, people already getting in place for the ceremony, which kicks off at approximately 11:20. joining us on the phone is linda feldman "the christian science monitor." she is the white house reporter for that publication.
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bachus through the president's day. >> it starts with a religious -- walk us through the president's day. guest: it will start with a religious service, near lafayette square. then they had up to capitol hill. as you said, 11:20, that will be the swearing in. i think that will take place closer to 11:30. then he makes his speech at 11:50. after that, they head into the capitol building for an inaugural luncheon. that is followed by a parade down pennsylvania avenue. in the evening, there are two inaugural balls this year. one is a commander in chief's all for the military, followed by the big inaugural ball. they have cut back from 10 to
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two. the second inaugural ball will be quite big. it is not quite as much downsizing as they are making it out to be. >> the president is only going to one location? guest: according to the schedule, he is at the first ball at 8:45, and at 9:10, he's at the other ball. he is a quarter years older, maybe he wants an earlier night. host: does the president of many traditions from years ago that he is calling this year that may not be on his official schedule? guest: that's a good question. i do not know. one traditional aspect is that everybody -- one traditional aspect that everybody focuses on is the bible. last time, he used abraham
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lincoln's bible. this year, he has abraham lincoln's bible and mark -- and martin luther king jr. as bible black -- bible. host: was his entire family at the white house yesterday for the official swearing in? guest: his wife and two daughters were at his side as he took the oath, but he also had members of his extended family there. his half sister on his mother's side, half sister on his father's side here, in addition to his wife's family. of course, his mother-in-law lives with them at a white house. host: finally, the parade, any word here or not on whether the president will walk. guest: they never revealed in these things in advance. the word i am getting, you want to catch a glimpse of the
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president, last time, he got out of his motorcade at seven and pennsylvania. that is one little hint. the weather will not be bad today. it will be warmer than it was a four years ago. abc will do more of the inaugural parade on foot. -- maybe he will do more of the inaugural parade on foot. for weeks, they have and constructing the viewing stands across from the white house. once he makes his way down pennsylvania avenue, his family will end up in the viewing stand to watch the parade. host: what is your day like? guest: i was at the inauguration of four years ago. i am deferring to colleagues will be out and about. i am manning our coverage from the bureau. i will be taking feeds from people on the ground, writing
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about the day, who is out there, who came, general public, why are people coming? how they feel about this president. i will write a story about the speech. host: linda feldman, thank you for that -- for your time this morning. ruth in portland, indiana, and our republican line. are you with us, ruth? we will move on to bobby, a democrat in new orleans. good morning to you. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i wanted to make a statement that i think president obama is a president with heart. people feel that. i feel that is one reason why he got the popular vote. i would like to ask all republicans to realize that we are all americans at the end of
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the day. we are americans. but democrats, not republicans, not independents. if we were invaded by another country, we would stand as americans. i want to ask that people stopped eating, mr. obama, our president, and to support him. to let him move america forward. god created the new testament to change with time. this is a new america of a different time. wake up and respect our president and support and, and may god bless everyone. host: that was bobby in new orleans. the first chief justice of the united states swore in a more potent -- more presidents than any other sense, from thomas jefferson to anger jackson, nine
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swearing in court chief justice marshall. robert toney had seven, president from martin van buren up through abraham lincoln's first term. here is an abbreviated look at the schedule of events today. the president will be attending church services at st. john's episcopal church around the corner from the white house, the swearing in ceremony begins at about 11:20, followed by lunch in the u.s. capitol, and the parade itself from the capitol to the white house beginning at about 2:45, and then the president is scheduled to attend two inaugural balls at the washington convention center this evening at about 8:45. c-span will be live all day with this stuff, and you can also view it online at c-span.org.
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a lot of additions to our web site, pieces of video we shot yesterday, we are shooting today -- you will see photos people are posting, with the hashtag inaug2013. greta brunner is down at ninth street on the national mall. >> we have a guess who came down from queens, new york. he was. four years ago. -- she was unable to see the president four years ago. >> i will up at 4:30, i am
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saying at a local hotel in washington, on 23rd straight, and we walked over here. . i walked over here with my friend. i am delighted to be here. i say, god bless america, god bless the president. >> you're holding in your hand, for viewers at home, he his the ticket you received from congressman meek's office. >> i called again on thursday, and they said i could pick up a ticket at the government office building. i got my ticket. thank you, congressman meeks. >> this is standing area, gold.
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somewhere up front. did you volunteered for the president? >> went around my neighborhood and told people to vote, vote for the president. i bought a t-shirt four years ago. i am wearing it again. this is my winning pitcher. -- t-shirt. >> what to expect from the president in his second term? but to do the right thing. he is trying. he took over from whole lot of mess up stuff. he has a plan, and a plan is working. he will do good. give him a chance. four more years. god is good. >> thank you very much for talking to us this morning. >> thank you, mr. president, barack obama. >> greta, can you hear me? >> i can. see how much per hotel room is
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costing her. -- her hotel room is costing her. >> $300 for each night. i arrived saturday night, a book it at 3:00 p.m. >> when did you book it? >> ko'd book it a month and half a vote. -- i boooked it a month and a half ago. >> up thank you. >> back to your phone calls as we continue to look at live picture's throughout washington and the national mall. tom in tennessee, you're on the air. >> bravo for c-span. i love the good work that you do. i formally identified as a
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republican, and i have been voting since 1984. i just oaks all my friends, the good people i know that are republicans, would celebrate today and be a little bit more fair to the president. i have never seen such scurrilous attacks on any politician that i can remember. i would challenge mike pauma -- my former republican friends to be fair. i used to put republicans because i would trust them or on foreign policy. i think anybody who is fair and would look at the president's record -- he has done a wonderful job of advancing our interests as well as protecting us. once again, thank you 4 c- span.org so much. i am enjoying the coverage. host: naomi tweets in --
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the metro stations here are very crowded. as we mentioned, metro is planning a rush hour schedule, which means a train every five- six minutes at every station throughout the day because of the large crowds. about 800,000 is the current estimate, to attend the inauguration wendy is on american calling in from sydney, australia. good afternoon, good evening, good morning to you. caller: it is good evening here. host: are you watching online? caller: i am watching on tv, on cable. i spent a good portion of my adult life here, but i am
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constantly reading -- reading the news about the state. i still consider myself a think sometimes my perspective gives me a broader vision. i can see the discord, the downside of what has been happening, but i can also listen to how optimistic people are, how the tradition of america and keeps people united on a very fundamental level, even though there are so many other things going on that are not ideal. i think america contest -- can fix its problems. it is the most optimistic country. that is my contribution. i see it from the viewpoint of living in a completely different region of the world that is percolating economically, but i think the american spirit and the idea to constantly reinvent themselves -- host: from sydney, australia.
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the first time this was televised was in 1940 with harry truman. the last time it was held on the east front of the capital was in 1977. that was jimmy carter. president carter was the first to ever walk the inaugural parade route. the oath that president obama took yesterday at the white house and will take again today at the capitol is the falling -- i do solemnly swear or affirm that i will faithfully execute the office of president of united states, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. longtime senate historian don richey talked to c-span about that oath. guest: one of the strange things about the inauguration, the one that leads to controversy is
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that the mention the constitution right out the oath of office. one thing the constitution does not say is concluding the inaugural both with "so help me god." yet most presidents say, "so help me god." there was sort of a folklore that tradition washington said, "so help me god ago when historians have been looking for any source that washington either said or did not say, "so help me god." one of the accounts was given by washington irving, who was about five years old at the time of the inauguration, but years later, he gave his remembrance that washington said, "so help me god." we just do not know what happened. it is up to the president of the united states to say whatever he wants. most presidents cannot repeat the oath of office. they just said, "i do."
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that was not an issue. starting in the 18 80's, presidents began to say, "so help me got." what is interesting to me is that chief justice always says, "so help me god." if you are going to be a strict interpreter, it is not there. you wonder why the chief justice put this in. it has become a tradition. tradition, in many ways, is much more important and even constitutional structure in this process. host: that was don richie talking about the oath that the president will take. back to live pictures from the mall. you can see, it is 7:37 eastern time. several hours away from when the ceremony begins. you can see the size of the crowd already gathering outside of the capital. ruth and the florida, please go ahead with your comment on this and operation day.
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caller: good morning. i was calling to suggest that this would be a good day for everyone to look up the difference between a constitutional republic and a democracy one of your previous callers said we are a democracy. we are not. we are a constitutional republic. therefore, a majority does not roll. although the constitution does protect the minority from the majority. thank you. host: mary is in texas, on the republican line. caller:, for taking my call. this president came in saying that he would join the country together. we are more divided than ever before. i think what is good for the american people should be the same or the president and all elected officials, regarding insurance, job performance, retirement, all such as that. we need term limits. need more jobs in america, and
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not more giveaways. enough of all that. what i am seeing is -- i support the president. i wish he would come out and say, and not of all of it. let's get together and both sides get all little bit and get this country back to being the greatest country in the world. we are not a supreme country like we should be. we do not need to be scared. we need to take care of our country and others can come to us and we can help protect other people. we are so split, we cannot do anything but fight right now. we need to join together, and both sides get a little, and get this country back on the right track. >> from the washington times -- susan crabtree writes --
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loring in lisle, illinois, and the democrats line. -- on the democrats line.
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what you think about the inauguration? caller: i am glad to be watching it on the tv right now. i was their four years ago. it was very exciting to be there. it felt like one big of a fast one you're there. -- big love fest while you were there. we got there at about 6:00 in the morning. we were there until about 4:00 in the afternoon. it was a very cold day. it looks like it is much warmer there today. i feel that the people are really going to enjoy it. i just want to say that i campaigned for obama, a work hard for him in illinois, i worked in ohio for him, and it is paying off today, because he is going to serve as a second term president. host: here is the front page of the washington post -- the photo
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with chief justice john roberts swearing in the president with just his immediate family present. today's ceremony is ceremonial. the president was sworn in on sunday, one of only six times in our history that has happened. in essence, chief justice john roberts and president obama will have worked together on the swearing in four times, even though the president -- four years ago, i had a muffled, and they redid it at the white house. the next call comes from arlington, texas. caller: good morning. i wanted to comment on the fact that the state will go down in history as our greatest signal of socialism.
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it is a sad day. thank you. host: back live picture you're seeing on your screen right now -- that is taken from the capitol itself, looking down at the mall, and you can see how the crowds are already developing around the different goals and different areas, standing areas, that are available on the national mall. there is a camera up at the top of the washington monument. that is being shared by all the networks, and it is looking down on the white house. that is a camera from the top of the washington monument. looking down, you can see several limousines sitting up there on the south side of the white house. this map is in "the washington post" -- it shows all the events in a 3-d topographical court.
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here is the mall. the washington monument is down here. it is very close to the white house, on the same line as the white house here. around here, it will weaken pullout just lost it on this newspaper page, -- we can pull out just a little bit on this newspaper page, you concede that all this is pretty well closed down. it is hard to maneuver through out here. some metro stations are closed down. it is hard to get around washington on a day like this. most people treat it like a game. liz tweets in -- the union station metro stop is only a couple of blocks from capitol. that is one of them in stops for
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people attending the inaugural. curtis from atlanta, a democrat. caller: good morning. thank you for the coverage on c- span. it was not too long ago that i woke up, and i'm enjoying what i have heard and seen on television. i just wanted to say -- is a great day for america, and we as people in america, regardless of who we are, need to back up our president, and let's support him, because we are human being s and we lived in this country. let's come together as one, because we all need each other whether we know it or not. thank you, and had a great day. host: it was in 1853, franklin pierce's the inaugural. he recited his address from memory, 3329 words. of course, the longest inaugural
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address in history was william henry harrison in 1841. 8445 words. it was cold and rainy day. mr. harrison died a month after -- after delivering that inaugural address outside. george washington's second inaugural address was 135 words, the shortest in history. adam is in minneapolis. you are on c-span watcher in the inaugural coverage. caller: thank you for having me. i am in the green party in the fifth district in minneapolis. being in a minor party and missing the corporate influence and how much money is put in presidential elections, i feel i am not represented as per cent by republicans or democrats, who
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they pick. -- as a person by republicans or democrats, who they pick. it is sad where our country has come. even in a minor party, it is a mess. we are so fragile. i do not see any hope for our future. i am homeless at the moment. this is the richest nation in the world, and i also have a form of autism. this country is not very kind of people who think a little bit differently. host: thank you for calling in and expressing your viewpoints and sharing a bit of your story with us from minneapolis. here again is the map in "the washington post" of the entire area you are seeing there. here is the capital, some of the different standing and sitting areas, all color coded and labeled. all the way down here, people will be standing, all the way down to the monument and behind
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that. i wanted out -- want to point out -- our reporter is right here, and she has somebody else she is talking to. >> we have quite a few ladies from jacksonville, mississippi. how did you all come together? how did this get organized? >> betsy is our coordinator. cannot have a chance to come up first four years. we knew he would get a second term. you were so excited to be in this place, in the 50th anniversary of martin luther king's speech. excitement to see obama add another clot for years to make change. >> how did you organize these
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ladies? >> we had a total of 41 people from jackson, mississippi. from the seeing. four years ago, i am just isolated to be here and to be able to bring more people from mississippi and celebrating martin luther king, his birthday, and also celebrating four more years of president obama. >> when did you decide to put this all together, and how did you do it? >> the day after the election. i didn't get word of mouth, and my name is out there, being a travel agent, and word of mouth, which went on and on. -- we went on and on. >> you took a bus? >> we left on january 19 at 4:00, and limit your january 20 at 11:00 -- we made it here
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january 20 at 11. >>, to are you charging -- are they charging for hotel rooms? -- how much are they charging you for hotel rooms? >> $220. we went out little bit because we have a tour bus. >> you're here "for years ago. how does this compare? >> it is more organized. we got off the bus this morning, and we walked. four years ago, we were here at 3:00 in the morning. this year, we were here at about 6:30. >> four years ago, not as organized. were you able to get as close? does the crowd at a different?
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what is the crowd is a little bit different. it is not so congested as the four years ago. everybody is not here now, but a water years ago, i was a bit closer because i was here at 3:30. >> best of luck to all of you, ladies. , for talking to us. -- thank you for talking to us. host: that was greta down on the mall, talking to some attendees of the inauguration. the first time an inaugural ball was held in 18 09. james madison. from stanford, connecticut, the democrats' line. caller:, for taking my call. i would like to let everybody know -- we all lived in america. this is one time when we all get to see a president of a
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different color. despite his color, we all should welcome the we have as a president. this is america. treat everybody equally. our president hurts just as everybody else. he is a human being. sometimes i sit back and hear some of these things that they talk about, and you wonder what everybody is thinking about this president and what we all want for this country. for today, of which everybody could pray for this president can help and -- i wish everybody could pray for this president and help him. thank you. host: the inaugural ceremony itself is due to begin at 11:20. there is a platform on the west front of the capital where the
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president will take the oath and give his address. all the dignitaries will be sitting there. it will come out where that red tapestry is. it will come out of that entrance. i will start to come out at about 9:00, and at 10:00 a.m., it gets pretty busy. the house will be in for a few minutes at 10:00, in session. we will bring that to you live. senator charles schumer will do all welcome. he will do a few quick words of welcome. he is the chairman of the joint congressional committee on a normal activities. -- on inaugural activities. the indication will be by myrlie evers-williams. justice so much york --
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sotomayor did the officials were in for biden yesterday. then at the swearing in to office by chief justice john roberts. the president will deliver his inaugural address. roby musical performance by kellie clarkson -- there will be a musical performance by kelly clarkson. finally, beyonce will close the ceremony with the national anthem. for lunch. we will be able to show you the toast their lives. -- there live. the next call comes from david
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on our republican line. caller: the morning. i wanted to thank you for taking my call. i believe that this is a very sad day. the mayor, i knew, the america one i do not know if she can ever come back. host: why? caller: i grew up with work ethic. you work hard to get what you want. the government was your ally, not adversaries. it seems to me it is tax and spend. let's not talk about the deficit. let's talk about gun control. these priorities are skewed. host: that was stated in the bronx, new york. we want to show you a video of harry -- talking about
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presidential artifacts. >> part of it is just about the enthusiasm. are meant to be days of national celebration and national unity. they are not always that way, but they are souvenirs' that .eople may create in the days of george washington, there were bronze buttons and pendants that people could buy things from --that people could buy. i particularly like this, a glass tray, sold on that day. it is to mimic a card. it has generally 20th, 1961,
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marking president kennedy costs of moving. moving.dy's the idea that people get license plates -- these are good for a day or a week. you can put them on the -- under cars. you are part of the celebration. go to the parade. this happens to be kennedy in 1961. you can watch the crowd up above for those of us who are a little bit shorter. we see these kinds of continuity, this ongoing, both the material and this expression of exuberance in a lot of the material. kennedy, 50 years later, here is one for the obama parade. you can see it in the individual things that people make. my colleague was standing in the
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crowd next to a woman wearing his hat at the last inauguration. i think it just speaks to the kind of enthusiasm we all witnessed on the mall in 2009. people came full of support, full of excitement, full of enthusiasm, wanting to be part of this larger experience. that is in part what in operations are all about. host: it was in 1881 that james garfield was the first president to watch the inaugural parade in front of the white house. in 1921, warren g. harding was the first president to actually travel to the capital and backed in an automobile. that is union station that you're seeing on your screen. people writing from the metro. this is pennsylvania avenue. this is the parade route you can
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see the stands are still empty. that is not start until two -- 2:45. pennsylvania avenue has been shut down for about two days, getting ready for this inaugural. there, you can see the national mall. the view that you're seeing is from the capital, looking down pennsylvania avenue, looking west, some of the museum's -- museums. the national museum of art on the left there. you can see a lot of police presence. in 2005, approximately 13,000 police and security officials were on hand for george gabi bush kos second inaugural -- george w. bush's second inaugural, because of 9/11. emilie tweeted this --
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again, president obama is only the 17th a call on our independ. you are on c-span. caller: thank you so much, c- span. i was there four years ago. i am honored and thankful for c- span and all the work that you guys have done. i would like to send out a shout to my sons. one is 16 months. i want to do some the political and say this -- i am a foxwell
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kind of guy. i started working for my company four years ago, and the regional manager and i are different. we have different political views. i come in with my obama shirt and i know he's a conservative, but we work together to have a productive worker environment. i drive a school bus. i think that is what we have to do in our congress and in our san net and the executive branch. i just want to say one quote, because it is on my shirt. it says -- a change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. we're the ones that we have been waiting for. we are the change that we seek. host: all right, that was from a vendor of, pennsylvania.
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we have been showing you all these live pictures from our around washington. these are all the different scenes from the white house. there is the mall as it fills in. 8:00 a.m. eastern time the ceremony will not begin until about 11:20 a.m., but people started arriving early. the metro opened at 4:00 a.m. and the trends are crowded. the streets were crowded with cars. people wanted to get it early start. a lot of the area around here is shut down for security reasons. it makes it more difficult to drive in washington where there's a lot of traffic anyway. so it makes it a little more difficult. here is a tweet --
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host: and here is the photo. again, you can see a lot of photos of our website, c- span.org. #inaug2013 is what people are using to send in of photos and post on twitter. but if you go to c-span.org, you can see there the presidential inauguration. there is a lot of video from yesterday, the swearing in of both the president and vice president. a lot of behind the scenes scenes are there as well. jeremiah in olympia, washington, a democrat. thank you for holding. what do you think about inauguration day 2013? caller: it is 5:00 a.m. here in washington state. i got up early to watch it. i would love to go down there to washington, d.c., to actually watch the presidential
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inauguration. i also wanted to tell everybody, you know, god bless america and the rest of the world. with president obama, his second term, i hope the does a lot of things for the young people. a lot of people do not have jobs here are in washington state, so if he can do something about that this coming term. other than that, just god bless. thank you. host: kelsey tweets about this picture, beautiful sunrise over the capital. well, the president will be having lunch at the capitol today following the inaugural ceremony. senator charles schumer, democrat of new york, chair of the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies, talked about the luncheon today. here he is. [video clip] >> the food, i tried to insert
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new york food wherever i can. red wine from long island, award winning. the aficionado of california wines said these pass the test, husband of nancy pelosi. the wifes, including my wife, did all the tasting. we have she's from new york. the apple cobbler at the end is made from apples from columbia county. the chef was trained in dutchess county. maple syrup is part of the sauces. that is from dutchess county as well. they serve some honey, and we're going to serve it from bricklin. urban agriculture is a new big thing. the roof of a home in red hook, brooklyn, a woman started a
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honeyed company that is booming. it was wiped out by sandy, because she is right by the water, so we got honey from rochester. a lot of new york things. >> you mentioned the other members of the committee, their spouses. how did you get it to the position as the chairman of this committee? >> if you are chairman of the rules committee, you become chairman of the inauguration committee. there is the logistical part. there is the launch part. and then i give the second longest speech, after the president. so i had to write it, prepare for it. it is work, but it is beautiful ceremony. i am happy to do it. host: you will see senator schumer throughout the ceremony. he will do a few opening remarks. you will be introducing sonia sotomayor. he will introduce a chief justice john roberts. he will be the emcee of the
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inaugural ceremony as chair of the committee this year. longview, texas, independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. how're you doing? host: we are good. how are you? caller: i am doing fine. last time i called in, it was inauguration day and i was in the hospital but i am happy to say i am is sitting at home this and we got him in for another term. i thought we was not going to do it for awhile. it was scary with the way a whole lot of people around here want to think about the president. some people do not even want to call him mr. president our president obama. they just want to call him obama. they think he is out to get the guns and things like that, which he is really not. he's just trying to make it a little safer for our kids to go to school. but as far as the day goes, i am happy to say that my son will be
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home from school because their offer martin luther king's birthday -- thank god for that. so you will be watching the inauguration with me, whether he knows it or not. he is still asleep, but i will wake him up. i just want to say, you know, very proud to be an american today. today, especially. y'all have a great day, and enjoy. host: thank you for calling in. live picture from the white house, where the president still is. he will be leaving their surely, heading over to st. john's episcopal church, which is really only about two blocks from the white house, a around lafayette square. he will be taking a motorcade over there, for security reasons, of course. he will be attending a service there this morning, then heading up to the capital. the "washington post" this morning has a commemorative section. you can see the full-page picture of the president in
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their commemorative section. but inside, they have these photos. this was taken in january 2009 of the president. and four years later, the usual aging of the president photos -- they show a lot of photos. here is a very recent photo of the president, taken in 2012, four years later. patricia, south park, pennsylvania, republican line. caller: good morning. i am so proud. this is not a day of politics. this is a day of patriotic pride. we have a chance to show the rest of the world that we elect our officials by the ballot, not the bullet. i am and baby boomer from the 1960's. i have never missed an inauguration. it is very important for me to be involved with, watching on
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tv. thank you, c-span, because i do not have to go to the other networks and listen to people give me opinions. i get the real deal, commercial- free, with a wonderful people and comments. so i thank you. host: that was a great commercial. we could not have said that of better ourselves. the first and the president wrote in a bullet proof limousine was in 1965. that was lbj after the assassination of john f. kennedy. greta brawner is down on the mall amidst the crowd. >> there are a lot of young people down here. we have some students from washington university. they are up early and energetic. >> since we're so close, we kind of have to. and this was the first year we were all able to vote for president. this is the ultimate street. it is very special for us. >> why did you vote for
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president obama? collected shows he is all about change. the first black president that anyone has ever really had, and it is truly amazing. >> you are saying the message has changed from four years ago. you were not old enough to vote then. but how close we have to follow this president? >> very closely, actually. since we are students living, we are in the middle of all the politics. it is interesting to see everything he has been trying to do and trying to implement. a lot of us have internships with congress and stuff like that. we are in the middle of it all. >> do you have and in turn yourself? >> yes, for congressman kourtney, connecticut. >> what has that been like? >> it is interesting to see how everything works within congress and to see how they really meet with each other to try to get things done. it is interesting.
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>> are you a political science major? >> no, international affairs. >> what do you want to hear from the president today? >> i have not really thought about that. so excited to be here. >> what time did you get up? this is early for college students. >> 6:30 a.m. >> thank you for talking to c- span. hope you make your way up there. >> thank you. host: and we continue our live coverage of live pictures from the national mall, from the capital. that picture right there is taken from the capital, up above were the ceremony is taking place, looking straight down the mall. about 1.5 miles from the capital to the washington monument. in the very far distance, you can see the lincoln monument, just corners of it, behind the washington monument. it is a 2.5 mila 1-way trip from
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the capital to the lincoln monument -- lincoln memorial. of course, 2.5 back. 1.5 miles from the capital to the washington monument. that gives you a sense of how big this area is. pennsylvania avenue is that diagonal going off to your right. that is where the parade will go. it will go down 16 blocks to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. there is the parade route now. that is not the center of attention just yet, the mall is. but the parade route will fill in. the president will end up watching the parade from his reviewing stand which is built every four years in front of the white house. there is the white house. the reviewing stand sits just outside on pennsylvania avenue. heather is in national, tennessee. caller: good morning to you. thank you so much for taking my call. i just wanted to say that this is just such a wonderful, wonderful day.
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not only is president obama getting inaugurated for the second time, for a second term, it is also martin luther king, holiday, and discourages such an important day. my husband and i have a 9-year- old daughter, and we emphasize how important it is to celebrate this day and to commemorate such a wonderful day to be an american. it is time for us to put aside our political differences, the partisanship in this country has just gotten out of control. we need to remember that we are, first and foremost, americans. despite what our political beverages are, we can come together and make the decisions, the right choices for this country, so that we can move forward. president obama has been at just such an inspiration, just as
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martin luther king who dedicated his life for the ideal of me being able to vote and have opportunities that i normally would not have had. so this is just an amazing day, and thank you so much for your coverage. it is just phenomenal, just great to see everyone going up in the mall. just a wonderful day. host: when the parade starts at about 2:45 p.m. eastern time, the president will sit in the reviewing stand when he finally gets down to the white house. there is an announcer who has been announcing inaugural parades for several terms, several presidents. his name is charles, and he talked to was about what to expect in today's parade and how he will announce the president when he reaches the reviewing
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stand. [video clip] >> ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, introducing america's commander-in-chief, the 44th president of the united states, president barack obama, accompanied by the first lady michelle obama. and everybody there goes -- yay, go. i mean, it is such a positive thing. there is nobody trying to make a point of any kind. one of the things that i know that the president, and i am so proud of him for doing this, is that one of the things that he likes to do -- there have been a lot of inaugural parades. i feel as though, having been there for awhile, the personality of the president reflects in the parade. eisenhower, truman, johnson,
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nice guys. but levelheaded, they're not into crazy stuff. now you're talking kennedy, reagan, clinton, those were the three best parades'. why are these the best? because they had celebrities and movie stars. reagan brought half of hollywood here. and it is wonderful seeing celebrities. so what happens with obama, it is kind of neat because he tries high school,s -- marching units, college, who never thought there would ever be in any parade at any time. and all of a sudden, they're getting an invitation from the white house to be in the
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presidential inaugural parade. it seems to me that president obama, a super celebrity himself, likes to surround himself with average people. the fact is his theme this year is "our people, our future." and that is really meaningful. so people can expect to see scads of floats and marching units, just all kinds of fun and games. their schedule for about two and half hours. and it is marvelous what president obama and all his friends and family -- the president in the reviewing still
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in it, and they really seem to be having a really wonderful time, does like the spectators that will be out there. host: and that was the announcer for the parade. you'll be hearing him all afternoon. that, again, is the parade route on pennsylvania avenue that you are seeing. the parade will begin at about 2:45 p.m. eastern time. 11:20 a.m. is when the inaugural ceremony begins up at the u.s. capitol. you can see some of the jumbo trons set up along the mall. so people who are way back from the capital will be able to watch the ceremony in a little more cleanly but still feel a part. clinton has an tweeted into #inaug2013 -- host: ashley tweets in --
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host: this is a picture that kate has sent out. you can see the sun coming up over the capital. it is still clear. they are predicting a high of 47 today in washington but snow showers possible this afternoon. now, if you want to add to the experience of watching what we're showing you on tv, you can also to our website c-span.org. it is set up for the presidential inauguration. there is a live simulcast there as well. you'll be able to watch it all end life. there is extra video, video on demand, and there is a visual blog page to throughout the day, our website will at pictures, including video feeds from our
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c-span crews who are out and about. #inaug2013 is the hashtag. carla in chicago, illinois, as we continue to look at the crowds. what you think about inauguration 2013? caller: good morning. hopefully, i am hopeful that in addition to the speech more than today, that we do get delivered from the person that america at chose to serve a second term. hopefully he will deliver to the working american who is hopeful to continue to keep their jobs here, who hopefully will deliver to all those college kids leaving college with thousands of dollars in student loans, and hopefully you'll be able to deliver to all the people, regardless of the color,
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regardless of the status, and, you know, to -- i heard someone earlier saying, you know, we need more jobs. i think a lot of the people who are, unfortunately, -- at one point or time, they had no choice and there were put out of a job. hopefully there will be a focus on delivering to all of americans who want to make an honest dollar. host: ok, sarah tweets in -- host: susan in montana, a democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i am so proud of this president. i was so proud with his last press conference of his first term that he came out strong.
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and the president could deliver on his common sense ideas if congress was a common sense. and hopefully this year, public pressure -- i know myself, i called my representatives regarding the gun issues, the 23 measures were so common sense. but there is such a fear out there that has surrounded this president, and it has been very disheartening to me, the treatment he has received. but i wanted to say that as a brazilian-american, that came over age 10 to my father and his family still lives in brazil. they're so proud of this president pit of the whole country feels that america has an intelligent, compassionate, empathetic president that really things before he acts, and when he acts, he acts
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decisively. i am so proud. i was proud in 2008. i was proud when i heard him speak in 2004 at the convention when i first said that needs to be our president. i am so grateful enough of us came out this time to ensure the sanity of this country and the progress of this country will continue. and i wish him and his family the best. right now, i am filled with pride in i am so glad to get up at 5:00 a.m. here to be part of this. thank you for having it. host: thank you for watching, susan in butte, montana. those white tents you just saw in your screen, those are security tents. you go through there to get on to the capitol grounds or on to the mall itself.
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dana tweets out -- host: jeremy tweeets -- host: "usa today" this morning, an article by david jackson -- speech to said tone for a second term. he says it will be more thematic, a speech in which the president will discuss our founding values in visions can still provide us with a guiding pathway in a changing world. that is according to senior obama adviser obamaplouffe. chrises in virginia, republican line.
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caller: i find it hard to really get excited about this inauguration, particularly when our president is placing his hand on a bible. no matter who it belonged to, i just cannot stomach this. i think there is still an awful lot of question about what religion he is. this is what makes it so hard for me to watch this. i think today, i am is going to clean out the attic instead of watching the inauguration. host: and that is chris in bedford, virginia. live pictures of the national mall as it fills in. 800,000 people are estimated to be here for president obama's second inaugural. that shot you see now is to give the capital. the white in the front, a friend
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of the mid-screen, those are seats. i guess those are reserved, so you do not have to get down there too early. the people that you see there are standing. there is a lot of standing going on, a lot of standing areas. people arrive several hours early, get through security, and wait for the events, and then join the parade. in a "usa today" this morning is this map that shows where some of the main areas of the events are taking place. here is the capital. here is the white house. the parade route will go, and here is the reviewing stand right in front of the white house here. there's a the two main places. but the third place that will get a lot of attention, were seized in has a lot of cameras, is that the convention center. this is where the president will
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be attending inaugural balls this evening. patrick of politico is joining as on the phone. what can you tell us about ?onight's inaugural balls >> in years past, the president will head up to a dozen inaugural balls. this year, there are just two. commanders in chief in of rock wall, and also the inaugural ball itself, both at the convention center. they're expecting up to 40,000 people. it will be a huge event. between these two events, the first family going to just those two balls. the format of -- will be similar to what you have seen in the past. the president and the first lady will largely lender -- linger. they will talk to a few folks. but, obviously, not stay up terribly. they have plenty of work to do
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starting tomorrow. host: the have any idea how many people will be at the convention center? >> about 40,000 folks coming in and out at various points, either the commander-in-chief ball or the inaugural ball itself, all under one roof. host: are they holding it at the convention center? is this a security matter that they're holding them at the same place this time? >> there are not a ton of indoor of the news that can accommodate those type of numbers and also with the security requirements the secret service requests. it is not terribly far from the white house, so travel will hopefully not impede both the president and tourists. for those reasons, i dig it was a smart choice. host: patrick, what is through your day. >> i will be covering these from afar. by social media. politico has got a bunch of, dare i say, young reporters, a
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lot younger than me, covering the red carpet, talking to celebrities, hitting up the after party speed up for myself, a lot of it will be gauging what happens today, both what happens on the capital, and looking at the inaugural balls and a less traditional methods. host: that:gavin of -- that is patrick gavin of political, a regular guest here. we appreciate your time. kelly has tweeted this picture -- i do not like mornings, but this is worth it. it's getting close up of that, the inauguration ceremonies, to west front of capital. that is a copy of her ticket. she will be up pretty close, but
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she will be standing for several hours, as only seats there in the white and the seats up on the podium -- those are pretty hard to get. there is an article as well in "usa today" about some people that will be on at the podium and those that will not be. as democrats prepare to celebrate president obama's second inauguration, most republicans with official duties will be lying low getting out of town entirely. high-ranking republicans such as house speaker john boehner and majority leader erick kanter, who have ceremonial roles, will attend. as well representative paul ryan, who probably envisioned the inauguration much differently months ago when he was part of the republican presidential ticket. it is my obligation, ryan said at a republican retreat.
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a republican of tennessee, a member of the joined congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies said that it is about the peaceful transition or reaffirmation of power. this is the 57th time the the president of the u.s. has been sworn in, and it has always been done without a mall, without insurrection, without a coup. that is why, whether you voted for mitt romney or barack obama, americans will stop and watch the inauguration and celebrate tradition. even so, republicans will stay awake and will lead democrats revel in their absence. but if you are an elected leader, you have to be there, said a republican strategist. otherwise you would probably want to get out of town, three- day weekend and all. jackson is in louisville, kentucky, independent line. you are on c-span. caller: good morning.
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i would just like to say that it is very disheartening for me as a first-time voter and i spent the last two years closely watching the election process, and it is very distressing to watch how much money men with political power will throw their candidates and throw to do these parades and balls. yeah, they say we cannot pay our bills. i want to say, gentlemen, maybe you should consider how you spend your money. host: here is the president's motorcade leaving the white house now. it is on its way to st. john's episcopal church is just around the corner. let's watch.
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host: and that is st. john's episcopal church, around the corner from the white house, on your screen. fdr, in 1933, first attended
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that church prior to his inauguration, and it has become a tradition ever since for american presidents. joining us here on our said in washington, just a couple blocks from the capital, professors clarence lucanee of american university in barbara parry of the university of virginia. professor, you were here four years ago. how does this one feel? compare and contrast this inauguration to what you saw and witnessed four years ago? guest: four years ago probably will never be repeated as far as the historical significance of it. not even in terms of the nearly 1.5 million people who came to washington, d.c., but the tens of millions of people throughout the world watched. from my own personal experiences, i had people come in from germany. people came from england.
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people came from a number of different countries that stated our house to attend the events. just the recognition of what that meant was so important, not just here in united states but around the world. this time, does not have that kind of significance, but there's still a very strong residue of the continuation of this historic breakthrough in the country's history. in that sense, when i came in, people were screaming -- beginning to stream into the mall area. the feeling that this is very important, very good, something a little bit more than normal for people. significantly, for african- americans, what many have noted is that the winning of the democratic primary, the acceptance of the democratic nomination, the winning of the
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election, and the inauguration were all set, and many people feeling more and more than they were really part of the country, feeling more and more patriotic, more and more american. that sense has been there as a result of president obama's election. >> professor barbara perry, how of the inaugurals evolved over the past 30 to 40 years? have they changed? >> with all american events, they're more grand than ever. that was part of john f. kennedy, and now added to it is the new technology and c-span itself. and going to tweets, the way people become the media. backing up what clarence said, there are only going to be two inaugural balls this time, in the evening after the ceremony.
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in bill clinton's era, there were 14, and i believe he attended all 14 of them. host: the professors will be with us now throughout the morning for a while to take your calls and to talk about the inauguration. as events are going on in the west front of the capital, we will be showing you those in not talking over them. once they get started, we will just show you what is going on in washington and let you watch it. we appreciate the two professors being here with us for a little while. you can go ahead and dial in if you have questions about inaugurals or comments. ahead and dial in and we will get to those calls in a minute. c-span's greta brawner is down and the mall. >> we're here with members of the delaware national guard people you have been here since 3:30 a.m. this morning. what are your assignment?
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>> we are here mostly to aid the police. we do crowd control and anything needed to help the police. >> you're telling me earlier, you know, eyes and ears. what does that mean? >> if you see any suspicious activity or anything like that, just reported to police. >> how is it going so far? >> good, for the most part. kind of cold out. but things are going pretty smith. >> how many of you came from delaware? like 23r unit, there's of us. in total, i am not sure. >> before you came, what were you told about your assignment? when did you learn about the? >> about two weeks ago. they just said we were going to the inauguration to help the police to deal with the large crowd. >> and there was a debriefing for all of you. what was that like? what did you learn about?
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>> for the most part, telling us exactly what we're going to do, the different sections. what kind of security they need. >> was it about homeland security issues that you should be prepared for? >> no, not really upset >> -- not really. >> just making sure everyone is having a good time. i do not even know what to say. either >> [indiscernible] >> tell us how long you have been with the national guard. >> four years. [inaudible] host: unfortunately, a little
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bit of audio break-up there with greta and the national guardsmen. now you can see the picture from the capital, looking down on the washington monument. it is beginning to fill in with people waiting for the inaugural ceremony to begin at about 11:20 a.m. eastern time this morning. barbara perry, which inauguration's that you attended and where the crowd sizes? guest: my first one was 1977, jimmy carter. i was a 20-year-old political science major and it was already on my bucket list to go to the inauguration. host: it was the last one on the east front of the capital. guest: absolutely. i think about the difference, maybe not so much the crowds. but it is the security situation. at that time, i stayed in a hotel on pennsylvania avenue. a friend had come with me. i think we just walked straight
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up pennsylvania avenue. i am not even sure we had a ticket. we stood behind the east front of the capitol and had a very good view. host: you could see the president directly. guest: absolutely. we were very close. after that, we just ran from the east front down it to pennsylvania avenue, a constitution, and watched the parade. so we got to see jimmy carter. he walked. we were so shocked and thrilled to see him do that, and part of the whole ceremony to me is the combination of pomp and populism. jimmy carter had that touch. host: professor lusane, you have written about african-americans in their american experience. this is from the front page of the "new york times." it ties in the fact that this is
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inauguration number two and it is being held on at the martin luther king holiday. is there a connection? guest: there is a connection. for many people, they remember the fight and struggle led by martin luther king and other people during the civil rights era to break through america's history of racism, of segregation, of people being marginalized. king lead to a lot of what we know now as historic legislation, the civil rights act, the voting rights act, the fair housing act. so there is a legacy that king left the benefit it and created the conditions under which president obama could even be elected to you do not have the voting rights act, you do not have black elected officials did you do not have the black vote -- a voting turnout that ultimately becomes critical in the 1990's, 2000, and of course in 2008, even in 2012.
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there is a long legacy. president obama himself acknowledges that he stands on those shoulders. not just the shoulders of former presidents that he talks about, but also the civil rights leaders. so it is significant that this is being held on martin luther king's holiday. and, of course, he is the president that is there when the martin luther king memorial actually comes about and is put up here in washington, d.c., which is important. this is a monument that will be there for the rest of the history of the country that says that this individual, martin luther king, was an important moment in the country struggling to get past all of these issues. now, when president obama was elected, of course, in addition to the historic significance, there were also high expectations. in part because their expectations of him as a democrat that are very different than republican, but
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also expectations that some of the issues that have not been addressed previously, from incarceration rates of poverty to unemployment issues to disparity in education and health care, would also be put on the agenda, and those would also be addressed. certainly a lot of that has not happened, and there is certainly a disappointment across large sectors of the black community. but it is also realistic also a sense of the constraint that the president has had. and it is not just about the president. it is also bought congress, about state houses, and about governors. there is a broader political strategy that has to enfold to achieve some of the things that people hoped would happen when president obama was elected. host: barbara, anything to add to that? guest: it is often hard to maintain the kind of levels of excitement from the first inaugural to the second, and that applies to any president,
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particularly this one because the expectations were so high. i compared it to a second marriage. hard to rekindle that sparked sometimes. perhaps it is the more like renewing the vows. the american people ought to fall in love again with the president. they want to have that hope and expectation. there are lots of people here. i walked up and down the mall yesterday, and there is excitement and real diversity among the american people there. so i think they will rekindle that sparked today. host: what do you remember about president obama's first inaugural address? guest: i was nice and warm in virginia watching it. host: what about the speech itself? guest: absolutely. it did not quite rise to the very high expectations we had for him because we know what a beautiful writer he is. he is very literary and a great speaker. i think it got off on the wrong
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foot with the mussing of the oath by chief justice roberts. i thought the president seemed nervous from that point onward. i do not think it rose to the level that we know he can achieve, and i hope that he does so today. host: we're showing you live pictures from around the mall and the capital and the white house, some of the security lights and more. some of these pictures are live. these are folks coming over from union station, on their way to the capital. union station is one of the big metro stops. we will continue to show you these live pictures as we take your calls and talk to the professors. clarence, what about his first inaugural address, and what would you like to see in the second? guest: i agree. i think the first one did not rise to what people expected from president obama. he basically talked about this
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is real important, he is president of the entire country, he wants to move as fast some of the existing issues, things he talked about during the campaign. in essence, the speech was not terrible, but it was not necessarily memorable. four years now, a lot has happened. a lot of things that were absolutely unexpected that were put on the agenda of the president. so there is a lot to kind of sort through. i think that there is a hope that the president will address his vision for the second term. because i think it is probably difficult right now to exactly say how the particular items that he wants to look at, he wants to look at the gun-control issue, immigration, climate change, of course the economy. but how does all of that fit? how does that come into something that is coherent? as a vision for the next four years and as a strategy of getting those things achieved.
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i think that will be great to hear. and to be reflective. what have we learned in the last four years? he came in with high expectations, and he can address some of the divisions that existed in the country politically. he can address domestic and foreign policy issues that were affecting the country. what has he learned about what it takes now and what he will have to do and what his administration will have to do, and what is counting on the american people to do to make his agenda come to fruition? host: the president and vice- president are currently at service at st. john's episcopal old church, just run the corner of the white house. their it is on your screen. we will watch them as they go out. approximately 45 minutes -- 15 minutes more in the service before the exit the church. jane in jacksonville, florida, a democrat's line. please go ahead.
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caller: first of all, good morning. i want to make a comment. i am is a very proud to be an u.s.an american moaklewoman in citizen. i am m. mother of seven. i am usually taking care of my kids. and without the generational sacrifices that have been made from all of our previous political activists, we would not be in this current state under the leadership of president obama as an african- american. i am just proud today. you know, we're still struggling in some aspects, but it is life. nothing is going to be perfect, but i just wanted to say, you know, at the end of the day, the
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president and his administration is fighting for not just the democratic party, he is fighting for all of the americans. you know, we are a family. we are citizens of the united states at the end of the day, whether we are republican, democrat, independent, african- american, whatever, whomever. we are family appeal host: thank you -- we are family. host: thank you for calling. guest: obviously, she is expressing their pride that she feels on this day. i notice a lot of people calling it to c-span -- i have been watching since early this morning, and it is very common for them to get that feeling. i noticed that so much yesterday on the mall, many african- american families. i noted one woman with her young african-american boy on the retaining wall, taking a picture of him with the capital in the background. i cannot help but thinking of
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those pictures of president obama as a little boy with his mother, wondering sunday of this child will be president of the united states. host: when more african- americans first part of inauguration ceremonies? guest: i think i would pass that on and to clearance. in terms of the history, he would probably no more than i do. guest: listening to the caller, servants may of the point from langston hughes or he says "i, too, am american." there are african-americans who wanted to be part of the country, not necessarily feeling that the americans want them to be part of it. i would say going back to the first inaugural, because somebody had to clean the seats and do the labor work that made these inauguration's happen. going back, many instances that was in slave labor.
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sometimes they were free african-americans. but to a great degree, it was enslaved labor. that was part of building the white house and the capital. we look out on the mall and see that long line between the capitol and the white house which will be filled in with people during the ceremony. we should also not forget that those two buildings and the mall itself had been the place where slave auctions were held, people were captured and marched through the city came to that mall. so there's a lot of history that is resonating there as we look at these events unfold. for all of this to culminate in 2008 with an african-american becoming president, making those connections. host: barbara, what can we learn from past inaugural addresses?
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which ones have stayed with us over time? guest: the ones that have memorable lines and americans can recite them from memory. the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ask not what your country can do for you. they rise to the level of poetry, and that is what we hope to see from president obama today. i would say they are poetry, elegant, and the president rises to the occasion by virtue of his delivery. and that is a hard task, particularly on a day like this when it tensions are running high. so the presidents who are most charismatic and the modern edera --fdr, john f. kennedy, ronald reagan. if you go back before the television age, abraham lincoln. i was reading again last night his second inaugural, and talking about the combination of the bible and shakespeare. for a man who is from my home
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state of kentucky, born in a log cabin, it is absolutely remarkable and completely memorable. host: what you think of harrison? 8000-some words, longest in history, ended up dying. is there anything you remember from that speech? guest: that he died. he spoke for about two hours in very cold somehow he caught a cold which turned into pneumonia and 30 days later he was dead. >> what about george washington? anything we remember from that speech? guest: not really, but we remember it happened. guest: i think that was more common in the early part of our country that presidents tended to have blogger first inaugural addresses and shorten them for the second.
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it is almost as if it was a matter of modesty. no television, no expectation that they needed to go on so long and the memorable. host: as we continue to take your calls, we continue to see the seams around washington, live pictures we are showing you of people coming down to the mall and going to the couple -- to the capital. everyone getting ready for the 11:00 a.m. start and live pictures around washington. our republican line, we have -- you have been patient, good morning. caller: i would like to say that i'm a young 20-year-old kid. i remember in 2008, watching president obama take isn't inauguration into the presidency. i remember sitting in class with students and we were all, in a
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way, involved. it felt like we were united as a country that we had our first african-american president, a guy who came so far through struggles. he came this far and i felt like i was a part of the country and today i hope to see that he includes more things that have happened in the past and hope that he involves the economy and may be going into a little bit of gun-control. i think he has gone very far and he has brought america together, not only with african-americans, but hispanics and all the different races. it just makes me feel more patriotic that we have such a wonderful presidential person to be there in office. host: thank you very much. next call comes from west
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bloomfield, michigan. caller: good morning to you. i would like to see the people participate more in democracy. the preamble to the constitution says "we the people." we need to participate more and not complain. secondly, as for president obama's religion, it says congress shall make all law establishing religion. he is a citizen, too, as long as he carries out the responsibilities of the presidency the way the constitution intended, his private respect to his god is not our concern. finally, they talk about him separating the country -- the framers of the constitution wisely separated the government into three distinct powers. nowhere is it written in their a separation of powers. there are checks and balances on each other. president obama did not separate
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the nation. he cannot, as one man, do that. we can call for impeachment over something sexual but we cannot recall congressman who have forgotten their job in the congress to vote for the common --, defense and provide for the general welfare. host: to economic and work conditions and personalities of presidents of fact affect the inaugurations? guest: yes, all of the above. they are shaped by the times and we mentioned fdr in 1933 saying the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. here we were in the deaths of the great depression and the stock market had crashed in 1929 and 25% of people were out of work and we were rightly upset that we have an unemployment rate of 7.8% now but imagine 25% with people
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losing their homes and families split apart. the president speaking at a time like that or in a time of war, that is part and parcel of when they can rise to greatness. in addition to that, it is their personalities that come through. that is what we were saying earlier about president obama. he has a wonderful, a charismatic, warm personality that can reach out to people that's what we hope for today. guest: i think that is absolutely right. i was thinking about that when we talked about it earlier -- it is the time that presidents are giving their speech that is really the context and in some periods, there is great transformation going on in the country or great crisis in the country and presidents have no choice but to address those issues. in other periods, the country may be more or less normal if there is a normal. that is a very different kind of opportunity. it may have been that in 2009
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when president obama spoke, the country was going through a tremendous financial crisis. it was losing 800,000 jobs per month, there is no sense that there was a bottom to that, and the president was basically handed the keys to the car. it is your turn. that is a very sobering moment for anyone who would have been elected president. that may be why the president's speech in 2009 really took on a tone more of really being very cautious and what i say and let me be by the book and somber because i cannot pretend that this is a great moment and everything will be fine and rosy. i really want to dampen the expectations because we are looking now at what we did not know a month ago about what the country's state is as far as the economy. we have been -- we have had some very difficult decision and some difficult times ahead. because the economy has
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improved, we are moving forward, we can see a very different kind of tone but things are not perfect and there are other issues in the country. we are in a somewhat somber mood again. host: woodrow wilson did not hold inaugural balls because it was too somber occasion? guest: woodrow wilson was a very tough-minded political scientist. he is there one and only ph.d. to serve in the white house. some might say we are a bit on the staid side. i think he was also a somber personality. it is hard to find photographs of woodrow wilson looking charismatic and acted. part of it was that and we should remember that for his second inaugural, world war i was the context and that was serious and difficult times. host: we're talking with
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professor barbara parry and professor lucane as we continue to look at live pictures from around washington. about 800,000 is the estimate of people coming down to join the president for his ceremonial inauguration. he was officially and constitutionally inaugurated and sworn into office yesterday. today, it is ceremonial and we will begin at 11:20 a.m. eastern time. massachusetts, democrats line, good morning. caller: hello, i want to say i'm extremely proud to be american today and every day. i am proud still that my father is one of the purple -- police officers who had the opportunity to work in washington for this wonderful event. i am also grateful that my knees thatsalicia, a student at gw is
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witnessing the first african american president to be sworn in twice for the only thing that would make this date better is it more luther king was part of the crowd. host: with all those connections, why didn't you come down for the ceremony? caller: in a busy kindergarten teacher has to be in her classroom every day. host: how many inaugural have you attended? guest: my first inaugural was 1977. i attended a lot of the balls and the events and i was very young the reason i attended so many balls and events, i was working as a security guard at the universe city and moved to washington, d.c. and the job i had coincided. i ended up of lots of these
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different activities. it was very exciting. i was mostly standing there watching other people each. eat it was good to get a chance -- most people won't have the opportunity to come to these inaugurals -- i got a chance to see the transition it was not a president reelected, it was a new president. people were leaving town and some are moving into town and congressional seats were changing and people were getting jobs in the administration. it was a very exciting time and for someone like me who was very young and study politics, it was kind of an eye opener i lived in washington since then so for most of the inaugurations, i have been in town and some i have attended. it is fun to see the transition and people around host: barbara
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perry, was one of your favorite inaugural stories or themes? guest: i have written on the kennedys and a book on jacqueline kennedy and have one coming out this july on rose kennedy. i love the story that one can see in the kennedy pbs video that's available. writing down pennsylvania avenue on his way from the capital back to the white house in an open car, in those days, president kennedy and mrs. kennedy, on the marker stand in front of the white house was the president's father, joseph kennedy, the former ambassador to the u.k., the great patriarch of that family, and apparently, he stood up and saluted his son by tipping his top hat. there are videos of the new president kennedy standing up in his limousine, lifting himself up painfully and saluting and
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tipping his hat back to his dad. it was a great moment in history in terms of a family dynasty. host: we are showing you live pictures from around mall and the capital and the president is still at st. john's episcopal church ride around the corner from the white house. he and mrs. obama and their family and the bidens are attending service there and that should end in about 15-20 minutes or so then the president will return to the white house prior to going up to the capital for the inauguration ceremonies. down on the mall is cspan's greta brauner. >> they've volunteer here. >> i went to george washington and i came here for a reason which is to get involved with the political scene. this is the opportunity of a lifetime. >> what is your assignment
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today? >> i am capt. of about 10 volunteers. we are working on the risers and making sure that all reporters have their credentials on them all time and that there internet connections are working flawlessly. as well as making sure the area looks great. trainingind of did you get for this? >> we had walker at the national mall as well as training about how to interact with the press and the guests and the different sectors set up on the national mall. >> how long was that, a couple of days? >> it was about three days. >> you voted for president obama? >> yes, i did that and you volunteered for him as well? >> i can best in north carolina and virginia beach and registered voters and work phone banks. >> the president and his administration says they want to get folks like you help out in
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the campaign to continue to help them with legislation and working in places. do you plan to stay involved? >> absolutely, one thing about going to george washington is being involved. some people are seniors and juniors who are so involved and they really do make a difference. i hope i can continue being involved. >> when did you decide you're a democrat? >> when i was in middle school, i had to take a test and i was about as liberal as you can get. >> are your parents the same? >> yes. >> what are you expecting to hear from the president today? >> i want him to focus on all the things he plans on continuing in the future, gun- control especially, and having a positive attitude for the future of and hope for all of us like a slogan says. >> thank you very much.
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host: that was from down on ninth street halfway between the capitol and the washington monument as the crowd fills in and keeps coming back from the capital. the time will be 11:20 a.m. and that crowd will extend past the washington monument. where were you four years ago, clarence lusane. guest: was mostly in -- i was mostly near the capitol but my wife was pregnant. my wife was determined and want to come so fortunately, we were able to be in the capital itself because a number of the congress members opened their doors. it was very cold and there were a lot of people who came were seniors and people who were handicapped and disabled so it was very fortunate that people who did not have to be outside could still participate. we spend most of the time in the
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capital but we came out on the mall and had an opportunity to be out there with the crowd for a few freezing moments. it is really good to see the discussion with the young person. i think there was some sense that when 2008 rolls around, many young people were engaged because of the historic moment and they were excited but they would not come out in 2012. young people did come out as it turns out and that is something to note, that people feel engaged, even the youngest people in the country feel there are important issues to be involved in. saturday was a day of service in honor of martin luther king at american university, we had our day of service and had close to 300 young people who came out early in the morning and we had a breakfast to get together and they went out around the city to hospices and help with the homeless and food shelters. i think we also have to ignore is that one of the things it
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seems that president obama has inspired his activism on the part of young people host: barbara perry, sonia sotomayor is wearing in joe biden and did yesterday. guest: i think that is an amazing landmark in american history. there have been other women on the supreme court, sandra day o'connor was the first woman, ruth bitter ginsberg, have both sworn in vice presidents but this is the first lady to swear in a president. given that has become an issue about the demographics of the country changing and the demographics were issued in this last race, i think it is tremendously symbolic. the fact that her memoir has just hit the shelves -- she had to have the early administration of the road yesterday morning because she had to hop on a train hopzoom, up to a bookstore in new york to talk about the book. her memoir is such an amazing
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american story of this puerto rico in a couple that come to new york and give birth to sonia sotomayor who lives in the projects and she rises to become a u.s. supreme court justice. as well as having served on the other two lower levels of the court system. order to administer the oath today, the formal vote that will be happening is truly a landmark. host: is it written in the constitution? is it by practice? why is it that the chief justice and members of the supreme courts where in the president and vice president? guest: that is not written in the constitution. our constitution is soap spare. i have a pocket version. so much is left out in their. re. the first couple of inaugurals, the oath was not administered by the chief justice in part because the chief justice was probably not in place for the
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first inaugural ceremony for george washington there have been members of congress who have sworn in vice presidents. is just a tradition but generally, from the second or third inauguration on, chief justices of united states have sworn in our president. host: the first long-term chief justice, john marshall, had nine swearing ins. thomas jefferson-enter jackson. from san jose, california is tom. caller: good morning and thank you for having me. i had a couple of comments. i wanted to mention a couple of historical things. you mentioned some of john's where the president is currently attending services. every president since james madison has attended services at st. john's at some point during their presidency.
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you were talking earlier about william henry harrison. he caught a cold and developed pneumonia as a result of his inaugural address. he did not develop this cold until three weeks into his presidency and that developed into pneumonia and he died 30 days after he was sworn in. the only official acted as president was ending congress. it was not the result of his inaugural address. i was listening to some of the other callers earlier talking about the president. i am a republican and i recognize the historical significance of president obama's presidency as an african-american. i was obviously disheartened on election night when my candidate
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lost and i turn to my friends and said, so be it. sometimes in a democracy, the other guy wins. when people mentione -- criticie the president or the different comments that are made by him and they are flabbergasted and i can understand, there are things about the president we don't like. he is still the president and we still respect him but i would like to remind them, if you go back in time, to the eight years of george w. bush, i'm sure that had a lot of criticisms of him. they probably did not say we should not present -- criticize the president. the big difference between this inauguration and four years ago , the significant difference, is that the president is being sworn in for a second term and he will not have a democratic
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supermajority at his beck and call for the next four years. that is a distinct difference from what he was able to accomplish or do during his first two years in office. host: we have a lot of the table, let's start with professor clarence lucane. guest: the last point about the super majority -- there is a very short period of supermajority meaning 60 votes in the senate so that he can overcome a filibuster. if you look at the back and forth between when kennedy died , you are only talking about a two-month period in the first term when the president had 60 solid votes in the senate. it is even more remarkable -- host: what you are seeing on
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your screen is live video of the congressional delegation. we saw speaker john banner and nancy pelosi and charles schumer heading down to the white house or they will be the official committee greeting the president and escorting him to the capital. that is where that motorcade is going, from the capitol to the white house -- the go ahead -- guest: the fact that the president really did not have a super majority for 90% of his first term really did shape the first term. it fed into this notion that there was a division that the president wanted to bridge and overcome and was not able to happen because he did not have that kind of support in congress and particularly on the house side after the republicans won the house in 2010.
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it became a fierce battle of ideas and very little sense of wanting to compromise. it was particularly on the house side with the republicans. i think that has shaped a lot of president obama's first term. host: anything to add to that, barbara perry? guest: the comment about st. john's and the ceremony going on and james madison, i think that is at an historical important point. james madison was the author of the first amendment and the free exercise of religion clause and the establishment clause. it shows that interesting mixture of religion and politics that we have in this country and even the founding fathers who believe so strongly and separation of church and state did not believe that church should be completely out of the picture when it comes to state occasions. host: there is the congressional motorcade heading down pennsylvania avenue to the white house, very rarely do members of
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congress travel and that kind of motorcade but washington is awash in officialsdom todfay. this is a day for closed roads. they will escort the president back up to the capital. mike in hanover, maryland, independent line -- caller: i am going to the fort meade information school and i am in the military so i look at this through a couple of different lenses. i want to say congratulations to greta being down in the trenches. i am concerned about the seats that have been for sale. it makes me think of access to the government for those who are willing to pay for it. it seems there is an arrogant shift with regard to president
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obama's presidency where we had pretty much white president dominating the scene and having an implicit arrogance that says to the whites in america that there are better than others. i can look at this and see since president obama, there has been american chefs that the plot -- that the black community has tried to claim the present as their own for the higher value is that he has broken the non- white ceiling and opens the door to other ethnicities such as blacks, asians, and of course, women soon to come in the presidency. host: barbara perry, let's start with you -- guest: i would not say arrogance. i see pride. that may be in the eye of
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beholder but that is what i see. i am not aware of the seats for sale but if the caller had a military connection, he is familiar with the privilege of rank. there are donors to the president's campaign who i'm sure have seats available. i'm not too bothered by that. host: is that anything new? has that happened throughout history? guest: i cannot imagine that it is terribly new. people who are closely linked to the president or presidency, people work in campaigns, people who have connections with members of congress who take a major part in not only the ceremony but in campaigns as well -- there are clearly seats available to people closer in than those who are farther back. people lower down on the food chain of campaigns and having been there from the time i was
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in high school up to seek the jimmy carter inauguration fairly close up, i don't think i had a ticket. i understand the concept that rank that does have its privileges. host: your response? guest: is true that we are talking pride. i want to underscore that support for president obama by the african-american community is also conditioned by the idea that president obama and candidate obama talked about in 2008. if he would have had ideas and talk in ways in which it was inconsistent with the general consensus politically and the black community on a range of issues, i don't think he would of got the kind of support that ultimately he was able to get. the inauguration is not just the swearing in ceremony and a parade. there are many other events that go on as well. that is where i think maybe there has been some significant
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changes as the money in campaigning and the big corporate spenders and big individual spenders have grown over the years, i think that may have changed what ultimately becomes part of the overall inauguration atmosphere. when you get outside of the mall and look at private parties and other events, i think you get a better picture of where some of the money in politics has influenced and as an expression host: people are arriving at union station which is one of the major metro stops for the capital. you can see them coming out there and coming down to the mall and to the capitol ground to participate in the 11:20 inaugural ceremony. as part of the crowd and these are all live pictures. we saw the congressional leadership go down to the white house.
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they will meet with the president and escort him back to the capital and the president is still in service at st. john's episcopal church. that is a different scene than what you see at the mall. there is maybe if -- it is maybe five or six blocks from the mall. justohn's episcopal is around the corner from the white house. it is an easy walk. the president and vice president biden have motorcaded over there for security reasons. barbara perry, what is the difference between president succeeding him or herself or a transition to another president or another party? guest: at the university of virginia where i now happily reside, we have done the oral history of every president from jimmy carter on word and we are
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halfway through the george w. bush presidency those who have not been released, the clinton won and the george w. bush, i cannot speak about because the dark and -- confidential. i am struck by the because we have released carter and reagan and bush 41 -- in all three of those cases, at least the first time for reagan, there were all succeeding another president. the transition process is fascinating because when you think of it, at 12:00 high noon today, if we were having a new president, you have one president who has to move out, literally, of the residents of the white house but all the people who work for him have to leave their offices in the white house as well as the executive office building. you have literally the walz strip to bear, the desks stripped bare, the pictures off the wall.
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there is both of this wonderful sense of opportunity and peaceful must, i think, in our system that we should be proud of but whenever i speak to these people about those who have gone through the transition, there is a little bit of scariness. there is nothing in the constitution about how that transition to a project should be made. we just know that it is and we have been fortunate that when there is a two-party, not just a change of park person, relatively speaking, things have gone relatively smoothly but that was not the case for abraham lincoln. we have been quite lockley when we look around the world and compare other countries and other regimes and even other democracies. host: wasn't there a bit of a snit between truman and eisenhower? guest: there was. we knew they did not get along
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so well and we also know that the transition from clinton to w. bush, there were stories circulating in the press at that time that the carter people in leaving, had slipped to the w. key off their computers. some indicated happened. it, their rivalries and some signs manifest themselves. in terms of our government, is generally peaceful transitions. host: public school number 22 out of new york has started a in early performance up on the west front. there were just singing in benigno and will probably have another song in just a second. they are one of the early performers on the west front. let's listen to just say second that we will come back to calls -- ♪ ♪
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♪ ♪ [carry the courage] ♪ ♪
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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
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♪ you know you can make it, you've got the whole world in your hands. you have been working for this moment. you are shining. host: two live pictures on your screen, one from the capitol and the other from st. john's episcopal church. the president and vice president is coming out of the church. [applause]
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[cheers and applause] [no audio] host: live pictures from st. john's to the white house -- we are live on this inauguration day, 2013.
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here on our set, professors of barbara parry and clarence lu sane are with us. i believe the clinton inauguration was open? guest: first of all, we should note that the president worshipped at an african- american church and celebrated the martin luther king holiday that way as well as through the service. i guess we should take time to note that his religion, one caller mentioned that, has been controversial. i think they have not worship on a routine basis. i think they felt uncomfortable about choosing a church in the district partly because of the destruction that causes. it is very traditional for presidents not only to do this service and writing about president kennedy, he lived in georgetown so the morning of his
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inauguration there were 8 inches of snow and he tried to go to church to his parish and georgetown where his mother was but she would not go to him because she had dressed in her old snow togs and did not want to be photographed. she said it warned her heart to think that he had gone. it was not a sunday and he did not have to go and he was out until about 4:00 a.m. the night before but he was pleased that he would start out his presidency at mass. fact that he was the first catholic, it was something for him to do that. it could have been controversial host: what happens next? guest: now they are back, and they will meet with congressional leaders and have a brief discussion and they will head up to the capital. we talked earlier about them worshiping at st. john's which is just across the street.
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obama in his first term, when it was time to go to church initially thought he would walk across the street. the secret service said absolutely not. you have a motorcade of 20 cars that literally rolls across the street in a circle. that is the transition that is shocking for a lot of first-time presidents and obama had only been a senator. he never had the kind of pomp and circumstance that comes with those positions and he had to make an adjustment and the whole family did because of the new hyper-security they were dealing with. related to the church, obama will take his oath on the bible that was owned by a lincoln and a bible that was owned by dr. king and that is significant because this is sending a message about how he thinks about his presidency, what
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historic figures he wants to link to, and what kind of meaning he wants to send when he takes the oath. it is important that you have that for the first time, the martin luther king bible that the president will take his oath on. host: you are seeing is the west front of the capital, glee human -- university. we will try to join them for a minute or so before the house comes in. we have 15 minutes before the house comes in. it has do a little work and the president -- they have to do a little bit of works of the house will come in in 15 minutes and we will go to that live and should not be a long session. the president is back at the white house with teh bidens. the congressional leadership went to the white house and pretty soon they will move from the white house up to the capital and we will follow that
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motorcade as well on the mall itself and in the capital, 800,000 people are expected to attend this inaugural. it is smaller than four years ago but still 800,000 people. it has really filled in and there are a lot of different cameras that cspan has down there on the mall and this one is taken from the capital looking down toward the washington monument. you can see the crowd has failed in except right there in the front seats because those are reserved. this is a shot from the mall where greta brauner has stationed herself. >> we are with the gates family from atlanta, georgia. they drove to get here. dad, you were here four years ago for the inauguration, what happened? >> we had to take our little into the emerges a room so we did not get a chance to see all
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the festivities or hear the speech. >> when did you decide that you're coming back for this inauguration? >> immediately upon re-election. we knew we want to come back and make sure she had a chance to see this moment aboutmaddox, why was this important to you? >> he is the first african- american president and that is important for our history and our heritage. i think it is important for america. >> on election night, you had a homer assignment, what was it? >> i was supposed to calculate the electoral college votes to see if i came close to my prediction. >> did you? >> i can close them what was your prediction? >> about 278. >> you are here today, what does it feel like? >> it is refreshing. you see everyone from everywhere, all walks of life, everyone embracing the moment and celebrating in the moment and having a great time being here. >> natalie, why was it important
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to you? >> it is an historic moment, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so it is important they are here. >> what do you want to hear from the president today? >> just freedom and growth and opportunity for the working class and for everyone. a moment of refreshment from the norm. >> you're able to get a hotel on election night when you called? how much is it costing you for me -- to make this trip? >> almost $300 per night in springfield, virginia. >> how much do you think total this will cost the family? >> probably about $2,000. >> and it's worth it? >> absolutely. >> tell me about what you hope your kids will take away from this. >> this is a very historic moment. it is full of memories so they will always remember this time.
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>> what time did you guys give up this morning? >> 5:00. >> what you think so far? >> it was worth the trip. >> thank you gates family for talking to us. host: back live with professor clarence lusane. to some of us not understand about him being the first black president? guest: he also said it is important for the country. as a young african-american boy, his parents have given him sons of the history but he also sees it in the broader context that is -- it is in advance for the country as a whole. he has also looked at policies and what has been the effort on
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the part of the obama administration over the last four years to address health care, the economic situation, some of the other issues that are important to the country as a whole. guest: the importance of bringing kids that age and even little ones who did not speak, my mother took me when i was four years old to see senator john f. kennedy come to our home town of louisville, kentucky, and do a campaign rally. we were roman catholics alike and understand when it is important to us as a family or individual, my mother wanted us to be there. she got there early and was in front of the podium to see the senator. when he became president, i know how many full that was for her. politicalbecame a science is probably because of it. -- and i became a political scientist because of it. guest: i have had to do presentations.
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even though my child won't remember, when he is older, i will show that to him. it is historic to go for the white house and be around the president but certainly, in the history making moment of an african american president, if you can connect with that at all, that is significant given our country's history and background on these issues host: live pictures on your screen from the national mall and the capital. glee university has been performing. ♪ pardon me boys, is that the chattanooga choo choo?
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[chattanooga choo-choo] ♪ ♪ ♪
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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
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[applause] host: lee universe the out of cleveland, tennessee. ps22 and lee university performed. senator charles schumer and the congressman from tennessee are the coordinators' of the events. why do you go to the white house on a regular basis? guest: mostly to do presentations on the book i wrote called the black history of the white house. the first, when was to do a presentation before the white house staff, both the presidential staff and the household staff and it was a very emotional moment for me but also for many people there because they knew they were part of an historic moment but the
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details i tried to outline in the book and talking about the construction of the white house and people who were enslaved and people who escaped from the white house, the history of what happened with president lincoln and the transition to opening up the door so african-americans could come and meet with the president -- all that history, people were not aware of. it was a powerful exchange between myself and the people who attended. that is why i took the opportunity to bring my son and my wife and have my staff came from my office i also came back another time to meet with some young women that michelle obama mentored. she is engaged in bringing young women into education and giving them -- helping to boost opportunities for their chances to go to college. i came in and talked with them
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and there have been other tours. host: lee universe city is still performing. we'll try to work in this call before the house comes in at 10:00 a.m. for a joint session on the inaugural activities. it will not be a long session but we will bring it to you live. marnie, springfield, illinois, go ahead -- caller: thank you for taking my call. i appreciate the history of the white house. i am a student graduates of the university of illinois, springfield in social work so we deal mostly with the services for people that need them. my biggest focus or passion that came from my studies was that slavery still goes on. we are in a month that the president declared of
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awareness, january 11, being the day for human trafficking awareness. i am looking forward to his speech now that we tolerate what our differences are and where is the future in combating this slavery the still goes on today, it is not just color. host: barbara perry? guest: how appropriate that she should call in from springfield, illinois. it is the adopted, president obama but also the adopted home of president lincoln. and the place where obama went in 2007 to announce that he was going to run for president of the united states which seemed like a sensible move at the time and it came to fruition. her point about modern slavery is well taken. i'm sure she is pleased that the president is attempting to work
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on that issue as well. guest: i think that's right, there is a significant issue around modern-day slavery. the state department has taken this issue up in a number of different ways. certainly, there is a lot more education that needs to be done around this concern. it is not only in the developing world where we think of places like latin america and africa but often in what we call the developed world, western europe and even the united states with people who are trafficking and an up essentially in a slavery- like situation. host: thank you both very much for spending the last hour and a half hour program discussing inauguration day 2013. the house of representatives is about to come in and lee universe as he is performing on the west front. the present the west front. the present

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